Lords Committee explores how primary and community specialisms can facilitate integrated care and reduce demand on the wider health service
Friday 12 May 2023
On Monday 15 May the House of Lords Integration of Primary and Community Care Committee will hear from two panels of specialist witnesses who will discuss the role of primary and community specialisms in the health service and how they can be better integrated.
The first session will examine how best to use pharmacy, optometry and dentistry services to reduce the pressure on GP surgeries and hospitals. The second session will look at how specialist community disciplines such as school nursing, podiatry and occupational therapy can promote healthcare and ease demand on the wider health service. Both sessions will also consider challenges hindering effective integration and how these can be resolved.
The first evidence session will start at 3.05pm and can be watched live or on demand at Parliament TV or in person in Committee Room 4, Palace of Westminster.
The witnesses giving evidence to the committee will be:
3.05pm
- Daniel Hardiman-McCartney MBE, Lead Clinical Adviser at The College of Optometrists;
- Ewan Maule, Member, Royal Pharmaceutical Society's English Pharmacy Board and Lead Pharmacist, North-East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System; and
- Dr Abhi Pal, President College of General Dentistry.
3.55pm
- Professor Lindsay Cherry, Associate Professor and Podiatrist, University of Southampton;
- Sallyann Sutton, Professional Officer, School and Public Health Nurses Association; and
- Genevieve Smyth, Professional Adviser on Primary Care, Royal College of Occupational Therapists.
Questions may include:
- The Government announced last week that pharmacists will be able to prescribe drugs for conditions normally treated by doctors. Do you think this will successfully reduce demand on GP surgeries? Are any ways in which GPs and pharmacists can work more closely together?
- Since 1st April, integrated care boards have been responsible for commissioning pharmacy, optometry and dental services. Will this change the way that you work with other services?
- What role can your disciplines play in health promotion, early intervention and the reduction of health inequalities and how can integration make this role easier?
- How can community nursing in a specialised setting reduce pressures on other parts of the health service?
- To what extent do socio-economic factors influence the conditions you treat and how could better integration with other healthcare and voluntary services enable you to better address the underlying causes of these conditions?
